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Pa2v2 vs. RA1

post #1 of 15
2/7/12 at 9:11am
Thread Starter 

Hi all,

 

So for my first ever post on head-fi, I want to ask if anyone has compared the sound of the the pa2v2 and the ra1 amps with grados.  I have a pa2v2, and am curious what differences, if any, there are in sound to the ra1.  They are both supposed to be high current, so I wonder how different they really sound.  Thanks

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post #2 of 15
2/7/12 at 5:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lemurboy View Post

Hi all,

 

So for my first ever post on head-fi, I want to ask if anyone has compared the sound of the the pa2v2 and the ra1 amps with grados.  I have a pa2v2, and am curious what differences, if any, there are in sound to the ra1.  They are both supposed to be high current, so I wonder how different they really sound.  Thanks



Had both years ago....honestly, just go with the PA2V2....about the same and way less money. Actually the circuitry is more complex on the PA2V2.

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post #3 of 15
2/9/12 at 9:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacedonianHero View Post


Had both years ago....honestly, just go with the PA2V2....about the same and way less money. Actually the circuitry is more complex on the PA2V2.

RA1 is pretty much a simplied cmoy IIRC, but PA2V2 is not more complex either. It has 4 input and output caps, 9v battery goes straight into the opamp (not really an opamp actual, but an amp chip) and the gain is set by a feedback loop with variable pot.That's all about it. But I do agree RA1 is indeed way overpriced. There are however cheaper RA1 'clone' on eBay that are better designed than the original RA1. Basically they are full size cmoy with the same chip used in RA1 (JR4556). For almost the same price, I think a cmoy is better than PA2V2 (and RA1 of course).
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post #4 of 15
2/10/12 at 5:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ClieOS View Post


RA1 is pretty much a simplied cmoy IIRC, but PA2V2 is not more complex either. It has 4 input and output caps, 9v battery goes straight into the opamp (not really an opamp actual, but an amp chip) and the gain is set by a feedback loop with variable pot.That's all about it. But I do agree RA1 is indeed way overpriced. There are however cheaper RA1 'clone' on eBay that are better designed than the original RA1. Basically they are full size cmoy with the same chip used in RA1 (JR4556). For almost the same price, I think a cmoy is better than PA2V2 (and RA1 of course).


I'd take the PA2V2 over the cmoy. More power and I liked the ability to adjust the gain.

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post #5 of 15
2/10/12 at 5:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacedonianHero View Post

I'd take the PA2V2 over the cmoy. More power and I liked the ability to adjust the gain.


Personally I'll go for the opposite because I like a less colored sound.

 

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post #6 of 15
2/10/12 at 6:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ClieOS View Post


Personally I'll go for the opposite because I like a less colored sound.

 


The PA2V2 is warmer and a better amp for Grado headphones...makes them a bit less coloured. I assumed the OP's cans were Grados because of the RA-1. I like less coloured sound too.

 

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post #7 of 15
2/11/12 at 4:32am

My JDSLabs CMOY is better than the pa2v2 for my hd600. The CMOY is pretty darn powerful with the senns yet can't drive a hifiman he400 to my minimum fun listening level.

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post #8 of 15
2/11/12 at 4:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by donunus View Post

My JDSLabs CMOY is better than the pa2v2 for my hd600. The CMOY is pretty darn powerful with the senns yet can't drive a hifiman he400 to my minimum fun listening level.



I bet the PA2V2 could drive your HE-400s. tongue.gif

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post #9 of 15
2/11/12 at 9:42pm

Well, the e10 could drive the he400s clearly although lacking in a little volume :) the cmoy lacks the refined edge that even the e10 has driving the he400. Impedance really matters with these little amps since the story is reversed using the hd600 with e10s. The senns sound thin, weak and muffled with the e10 compared the cmoy which powers them better than a burson ha160d tongue_smile.gif


Edited by donunus - 2/11/12 at 9:45pm
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post #10 of 15
2/11/12 at 9:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by donunus View Post

Well, the e10 could drive the he400s clearly although lacking in a little volume :) the cmoy lacks the refined edge that even the e10 has driving the he400. Impedance really matters with these little amps since the story is reversed using the hd600 with e10s. The senns sound thin, weak and muffled with the e10 compared the cmoy which powers them better than a burson ha160d tongue_smile.gif


Not surprised...I'm not a fan of the Burson. tongue.gif

 

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post #11 of 15
2/11/12 at 10:06pm

hahaha the burson was nice out of the L Jack but was too colored in the mids for me out of the H Jack. I never understood the rabid fanbase of this amp unless the standard amp sounds different from the ha160D I got from the loaner program. The L Jack even though it sounded smooth wasn't also very useable because all my old recordings needed to be cranked up at full volume to get satisfying levels out of my hd600s.

 

Anyway back to the cmoy, I like them more with my hd600s than my memory of my Gilmore Lite with DPS. The CMOY doesn't have the high frequency detail of the GLite but it tames the slight 6kz bump of the hd600s to make them sound musical with almost any track I throw at them. That in itself is priceless :) I'll try and get a hold of that pa2v2 again and see how it sounds with the hd600 because my last mnemory of those was that they sounded grainy and unrefined.

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post #12 of 15
2/11/12 at 10:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by donunus View Post

hahaha the burson was nice out of the L Jack but was too colored in the mids for me out of the H Jack. I never understood the rabid fanbase of this amp unless the standard amp sounds different from the ha160D I got from the loaner program. The L Jack even though it sounded smooth wasn't also very useable because all my old recordings needed to be cranked up at full volume to get satisfying levels out of my hd600s.

 

Anyway back to the cmoy, I like them more with my hd600s than my memory of my Gilmore Lite with DPS. The CMOY doesn't have the high frequency detail of the GLite but it tames the slight 6kz bump of the hd600s to make them sound musical with almost any track I throw at them. That in itself is priceless :) I'll try and get a hold of that pa2v2 again and see how it sounds with the hd600 because my last mnemory of those was that they sounded grainy and unrefined.


I think the PA2V2 would be a good match for a brighter headphone like a Grado or HD600 with its warmer sound.

 

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post #13 of 15
2/13/12 at 5:07pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the responses.  I thought my thread died, but now I see its alive... I actually already have a pa2v2, I like the detail in the treble among other things...but on some records I feel like it robs some of the mid range richness from my grados.  I'm pretty much a noob, so I was really just curious if other similar entry level amps or the ra1 (since it's made for grados) have much of a different flavor if you will.

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post #14 of 15
2/13/12 at 5:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lemurboy View Post

Thanks for the responses.  I thought my thread died, but now I see its alive... I actually already have a pa2v2, I like the detail in the treble among other things...but on some records I feel like it robs some of the mid range richness from my grados.  I'm pretty much a noob, so I was really just curious if other similar entry level amps or the ra1 (since it's made for grados) have much of a different flavor if you will.



Actually I would say that the PA2V2 would ADD midrange richness to Grados. Its a nice coloured portable amp that helps Grados where they need it IME.

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post #15 of 15
2/13/12 at 5:41pm

The other way to add some mids is to try different pads with your Grados

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